The Played and the Gamer
by Raven Silversea
Summary: There’s two points of view to this game: the Commander who’s played and the gamer who plays


**I don't own the characters or game mechanics of XCOM 2, that would be Firaxis Games. Cover image is from my most recent campaign and is a bond photo taken literally right after the third person of this headcanonned trio died**

The aliens have invaded.

Twenty years gone.

I was helping them?

But I was fighting…

Tactical simulations?

Psionic network?

Stop the science babble, Tygan!

Speak plainly,

What exactly did they do to me?

(Silence)

Might as well find who's in charge here,

See what I can do.

"The bridge is yours, Commander."

What if I don't want to command?

What if I shouldn't command?

I don't want their deaths on my conscience.

Listen to me, Central!

Alright, so how do I speed time up?

Oh, you click this square button-thing by a scanning site.

Kind of annoying how this assumes you lost the first game,

Kind of cool how they fixed the plothole.

Doo de doo de doo de doo

(Research is complete)

Assign some more.

(Debris are cleared)

Build a facility.

Ah ha!

First proper mission, at last!

Who do I send?

Who do I sentence?

They're just kids,

Kids playing war.

Do they even know how to use those weapons?

Four rookies,

Leaving on their first mission.

I've never been religious,

But standing on this bridge,

Watching, waiting to give orders,

God, let them come home.

 _(One down)_

Why did I send him?

Damn, I thought he had good cover

 _(One in panic)_

They weren't ready

Are you going to be useful while you panic?

Apparently not

 _(Two down)_

Just kill the VIP and get out of there

Stop missing!

There would be less of them if you managed to hit one!

 _(Reinforcements incoming)_

Make a run for it,

Come home!

And of course!

They're landing beside the evac site!

 _(Three down)_

No, no, no, no.

This is all my fault.

Okay, we're officially killing the VIP…

Somehow.

 _(Explosion)_

What are you doing?!

I don't think that hit the VIP…

 _(Four down)_

Welp, no one's coming home from that one

 _At least the VIP died too._

Why do we call this a bar?

There's no alcohol.

Just empty shelves behind a broken counter,

Lonely bar stools,

A wall of empty frames,

With four new pictures,

Four new plaques.

Four fallen soldiers,

Gone without a promotion,

Gone without meeting face to face.

No funeral,

Nothing to bury,

No family to notify.

All that's left are empty bunks,

A few personal items,

And a picture paired with a plaque.

Four people stripped down to names and numbers.

Who will be added to these walls after the next mission?

Did I tell you to move there?

No, I told you to move here.

You just decided to move there.

You useless fudge monkey.

You had an 86% chance of hitting him!

What are you going to do, sectoid?

Oh, you're going to be a mind-controlling dick,

Thanks.

"We're losing civilians left and right, Commander!"

I've heard you say that multiple times now, Central.

Shut the hell up.

The memorial bar is fuller now.

Empty frames no longer so empty.

Rookies, Squaddies, Corporals,

All the ranks represented on these walls.

Have we really lost so many?

Have I really been so cold to not remember them?

Men and women who fought,

Not for themselves,

Not for righteousness,

But for the selfish freedom we all desire.

I can't wait to burst their bubble,

The ones that live in the cities,

That bow down to ADVENT.

I can't wait to say,

"Look what they're doing to us."

But really what I want is to turn back the clock.

I would join these soldiers on the walls,

If I thought I could change their fate.

 _The final mission_

I'm finally in the field.

Can finally fight alongside my soldiers.

The Commander is a good shot,

Better than all these fools at least.

 _"Don't listen to their lies!"_

But what if they aren't lies, Central?

What if they're telling the truth?

Interesting tactic.

Makes you wonder if they were protecting Earth all along.

 _Three Avatars to kill, and this_

Nightmare

game

 _ENDS._

They're all wounded,

How can I ask them to fight against alien gods?

Here, Avatar, Avatar.

Come out and die!

 _So many coming through the gates._

How will we stop them all?

No. The Avatars are the objective,

Focus on them.

Who has a shot at an Avatar?

You, you, and you.

The rest of you, pick an alien.

One,

Two,

 _Three down_

Is that it?

I did it!

 _We won!_

At what cost?

Was it right?

 **AN: Written for my creative writing class- topic was what we did over Winter break, I may or may not have logged 30-ish hours playing this game. Yes, the formatting is a bit weird, but is done on purpose. All the italicized words are supposed to be in the middle of the two columns of stanzas but fanfiction is cooperating with that formatting decision. It also doesn't seem to understand the concept of stanzas, so apologies for that**


End file.
